European Union countries fear the U.S. legislation’s $369 billion of subsidies for electric vehicles and other clean technologies could put companies based in Europe at a disadvantage.
The subsidies, largely for manufacturers based in North America, have local content requirements that EU leaders fear may lure companies away from Europe.
The legislation excludes electric vehicles assembled outside of North America from tax credits in the United States.
“I am planning to go to Washington D.C. in early March to discuss the issues related to the Inflation Reduction Act,” Dombrovskis said on Thursday while in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
“The U.S. has indicated openness to find ways how to treat us as a free trade agreement equivalent partner,” he said.
Through a taskforce set up between the two sides “we will be able to solve some of our problems with the IRA but not all of our problems”, he said.
Dombrovskis met U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai last week on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.
The EU wants the same treatment as U.S. trade partners Canada and Mexico, whose production is largely included in the subsidy schemes but any revision of the act by the U.S. Congress is out of the question.
Some EU countries have warned the bloc against waging a subsidy race with the United States.
European nations are not the only ones who have raised concerns about the U.S. legislation. South Korea has also sought talks with the United States over it.
Source: Economy - investing.com
